brookcove
Posted : 8/8/2008 9:51:21 AM
From what I know of her former life she was never socialized & treated as a child & not a dog.
Aha! I get a ton of these dogs in here - it's probably the number one reason BCs are turned in, because they are clever enough to take advantage of this type of situation and push it to an extreme very quickly (where aggression leads to biting).
So the good news is - you've got a smart little dog there. The bad news is, you've got a smart little dog there and she's likely to keep you hopping! So the way I work with this kind of thing is, use her smarts for good and don't give her time to make decisions like "Big dogs are bad" on her own.
She's been with you plenty long enough to step things up a notch and really put her brain to work. NILIF type of stuff works great - but make what you expect of her very clear and just a bit harder than just "sit for this and that." It's cool to start with sit but start teaching her other stuff to do. This is another level of looking to you as the Provider of All Cool Stuff. Then it's easy to give her something else to do when Grady's around, other than worry about Grady.
There's something to be said for just plain not being used to having a big dog around. I understand that. I'd allow her one bark, and then she has to be quiet when I say, "Thank you, that's just Grady [again!]." If she feels the need to follow up, in the crate she goes. A dog that barks at alarms is useful. A dog that keeps barking once the "All clear" is given, is just as annoying and dangerous as "The boy who cried wolf." To dogs, it's just the same. It causes tension in the household.
Good luck! You are awesome for working with an older dog. 